Audi Needs to Build This Unhinged 700-HP Hybrid Concept

The world needs more insanity, and the Audi Sport Quattro Concept delivers. In spades. It’s a rolling tribute to the unbridled lunacy of mid-’80s Group B rally racing, and it has the modern technological pedigree to match.

If it looks vaguely familiar, you’re thinking of the similarly named Quattro Concept from 2010. That knee-weakening coupe combined a shape inspired by the rally-bred Audi Sport Quattro S1 with a turbocharged, fire-breathing five-cylinder to match. This new concept is a whole ‘nother beast.

While the styling is similar, everything has been meticulously honed to inch it towards production. The massive trio of grilles sucks in enough oxygen to fill a hot air balloon, while the wheels wouldn’t look out of place on German touring car — or a steamroller. The inside looks surprisingly close to something you could buy at your local Audi retailer, with a steering wheel festooned with dozens of buttons, a gauge cluster with an integrated track map, and a dash that ditches the supercar frippery for something that looks destined for dealerships.

But it’s what’s under that aluminum and carbon fiber skin that has us begging for Audi to take our money.

A turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 good for 560 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque is mated to an eight-speed automatic that routes power to all four wheels. But Audi’s engineers didn’t stop there. An electric motor, good for another 150 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque, juices the total output to 700 ponies. The plug-in hybrid system and lithium-ion battery pack allow it to trundle along in electric mode for 31 miles before tapping into the V8’s power reserves. And even with a curb weight of 4,080 pounds, Audi claims it will go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds on its way to a maximum speed of 190 mph.

To hear Audi tell it, using a hybrid drivetrain is the logical evolution of the Group B philosophy — using cutting edge technology to attain face-warping speed. That’s something we can get behind.